Avocet Mining Inclusion in the FTSE 250 Index

Avocet Mining Inclusion in the FTSE 250 Index

The FTSE Group has announced that Avocet Mining PLC ("Avocet" or "the Company") will be included in the FTSE 250 index following the quarterly review of the FTSE's UK Index Series on 7 March 2012.

This will be effective following the close of the market 16 March 2012, with trading as a member of the FTSE 250 index commencing on 19 March 2012.

This follows Avocet's admission to the premium segment of the Official List of the UKLA and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's ("LSE") Main Market in December 2011. Subsequent to admission to the Main Market, the LSE became the Company's primary listing. The Company has retained its secondary listing on the Oslo Børs.

Commenting on the promotion into the FTSE 250 index, Brett Richards, Chief Executive Officer of Avocet, said:

"Joining the FTSE 250 index is a notable milestone and testament to the progress made by Avocet over the past 18 months as the Company has transformed to be focused on West African gold mining and exploration. Avocet is now well positioned as a leading mid-tier gold producer with aggressive growth plans. These include the expansion of production at the Inata Gold Mine and the advancement of our gold project at Koulékoun, Guinea to feasibility study during the course of 2012. We remain committed to our stated strategy of growing the Company's asset base in West Africa and continuing to deliver shareholder value."

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Notes to Editors

Avocet Mining PLC is a gold mining and exploration company listed on the London Stock Exchange (Ticker: AVM.L) and the Oslo Børs (Ticker: AVM.OL). The Company's principal activities are gold mining and exploration in West Africa.

In Burkina Faso the Company owns 90% of the Inata Gold Mine. The deposit at Inata currently comprises a Mineral Resource of 3.46 million ounces and a Mineral Reserve of 1.85 million ounces. The Inata Gold Mine poured its first gold in December 2009 and produced 167,000 ounces of gold in 2011.

Other assets in Burkina Faso include eight exploration permits in surrounding the Inata Gold Mine in the broader Bélahouro region. The most advanced of these projects is at Souma, some 20 kilometres from the Inata Gold Mine, where a Mineral Resource of 0.56 million ounces exists.

In Guinea, Avocet owns twelve exploration licences in the north east of the country. Mineral Resource development has been ongoing since 2005 and the project at Tri-K is the most advanced. Within the Tri-K project, Koulékoun has a Mineral Resource of 1.83 million ounces and Kodiéran of 0.4 million ounces.